Tragically, Cannonball's life and career were cut short by a stroke at age 46. But, his recorded legacy, I argue, makes him an important figure in both the hard bop school of the late 50's and the development of soul jazz in the 60's. Perhaps more importantly, he played an important role as an ambassador for jazz and was instrumental in advancing the careers of many young players - Charles Lloyd and Yusef Lateef among them. Truly, Cannonball Adderley was an expansive, engaging bandleader; together with his easygoing musical style, this made him one of the most popular (if not respected) jazzmen of his day.

An alto saxophone player, Cannonball Adderley was inevitably influenced influenced by post-war giants Charlie Parker and Benny Carter. By the mid-50's, he was moonlighting from his job as a high school band director in a group with his brother, Nat, in their native Florida. While visiting New York, he and Nat sat in with Oscar Pettiford and were subsequently signed to Savoy Records. Before long, Miles Davis tapped Cannonball to play alongside John Coltrane in that immortal sextet. Following following his stint with Miles, Adderley picked up where he has left off, playing with his brother. Over the years, the Adderley siblings performed in a variety of settings, from small groups to big bands, but their best and most popular sides were recorded by quintets and sextets that, over the years, included Joe Zawinul (who wrote "Mercy"), Charles Lloyd, and Bobby Timmons.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. In 1955, Adderley and his brother participated in several hard bop sessions for Savoy that featured a rotating cast of soon-to-be-legends, including Kenny Clark, Horace Silver, Donald Byrd, and Hank Jones. The sessions yielded (at least) three different albums: most famously Bohemia After Dark, but also Cannonball's and Nat's respective debuts, Presenting Julian Cannonball Adderley and That's Nat. These sessions have been reissued many times - most expansively on Summer Of '55 (1999) and most concisely on Spontaneous Combustion (2006), or on any number of other Savoy reissues.

Beginning with 1955's Julian Cannonball Adderley (and throughout his celebrated stint with Miles Davis), Cannonball recorded for the EmArcy label, the jazz subsidiary of pop powerhouse Mercury Records. These sides are often overlooked by fans and (especially) critics because, admittedly, some of the sessions were overtly tailored to pop tastes. By the way, two of the best such albums - Julian Cannonball Adderley And Strings (1955) and Jump For Joy (1958) - were later reissued as a 2-for-1 CD by Verve. Most of Cannonball's EmArcy sessions, however, were bop-oriented - and pretty great. These recordings are compiled in their entirety on Sophisticated Swing: The Emarcy Small Group Recordings, including sessions originally issued under brother Nat's imprimatur.

During his tenure at EmArcy, some of Cannonball's recordings were jointly released through Mercury to give him greater exposure. After EmArcy was shuttered - and Adderley began scoring hit singles for other labels - Mercury began reissuing the EmArcy albums under a variety of titles new and old. Adderley And Strings, for example, became The Lush Side of Cannonball (1962). More significantly, the label compiled unreleased sides from several 1957 and 1958 sessions as Cannonball's Sharpshooters (1959) Cannonball EnRoute (1961).

As an overview of this rich, relatively neglected period, pick up Verve's The Ultimate Cannonball Adderley (1999) which brings together highlights from all the EmArcy and Mercury recordings, including the fabled quintet sessions with John Coltrane (see below) and a 1962 date with Ray Brown. In the alternative, look for Verve Jazz Masters (1994) or Cannonball Adderley's Finest Hour (2001).

Though Cannonball Adderley was quickly coming into his own as a bandleader, his two landmark recordings from the late 1950's are inextricably tied to his tenure with Miles Davis. Somethin' Else (1958), of course, was an absolutely stellar session with Miles Davis, Hank Jones, and Art Blakey, and Sam Jones, and it has become Adderley's most highly regarded album. Then, Cannonball followed up with Quintet In Chicago, a magnificent jam with Adderley's mates from the 1959 Davis sextet, including John Coltrane and Wynton Kelly. It is among the most challenging work Adderley ever did - and among Coltrane's most instantly likeable. (Quintet In Chicago was released on Mercury, and later reissued by Limelight as Cannonball And Coltrane).

Around this time, Adderley began a productive sojourn at Riverside Records (from 1958 till the label went bust in 1963) marked by popular singles like "This Here," "African Waltz," "The Jive Samba," "Work Song," and "Waltz For Debby" (with Bill Evans). Among the standout studio albums from these years are his Riverside debut, Portrait Of Cannonball (1958); Things Are Getting Better (a tremendous date with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, Art Blakey, and Wynton Kelly, 1958); Them Dirty Blues (1960); Poll Winners (with Ray Brown and Wes Montgomery, 1960), and Know What I Mean? (with Bill Evans, 1961). Also of note are In San Francisco (1960) and In New York (1962), which showcase the live power and spontaneity of Adderley's Quintet and Sextet, respectively. Milestone's Greatest Hits: The Riverside Years collects highlights from this period - though way too short, it's an excellent jumping-off point, or an ideal taster for the casual fan. But, avoid Riverside's The Very Best Of Cannonball Adderley, which tosses in a couple of tracks from Adderley's brief tenure at Fantasy Records in the mid-70's, without providing much context.

During this period, Adderley also waxed the popular Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley (1962) for Capitol, and it was Capitol that snatched up Cannonball (and much of his back catalog) after Riverside folded. During these years, Adderley settled into a pleasant, easy groove - though he inarguably continued to produce good music. The first Capitol releases, Jazz Workshop Revisited (an excellent 1962 live date), Cannonball Takes Charge (an authoritative 1959 studio session), and Cannonball's Bossa Nova (featuring Sergio Mendes) were originally recorded for and/or released by Riverside. But, his surprising Fiddler On The Roof (1964) was all new. Soon, the 1966 single "Mercy Mercy Mercy" gave Adderley the biggest hit of his career, peaking at #11 Pop and #2 R&B. The accompanying 1967 LP was also a hit, and it was billed as "Live At The Club," purportedly recorded at Club DeLisa in Chicago. In fact, it was recorded at recorded at the Capitol Tower in Hollywood with a studio audience and an open bar - which partly explains their boistrous enthusiasm....

Contrary to popular wisdom, Adderley pushed and stretched his music later in his career, though not always with good results. He experimented with trendy electric jazz, ill-advised avant garde, and silly conceptual pieces like Love, Sex, And The Zodiac, among other things. But the soulful sides are always what he did best (and is best known for), and Capitol's Best Of Cannonball Adderley nicely sums up this aspect of his career. And, it is a good companion to Milestone's Greatest Hits. Under their Blue Note imprint, Capitol also collaborated with Verve to produce The Definitive Cannonball Adderley; in a word, it's not definitive (it would take a boxed set to achieve that), but it cherry picks cuts from four labels and spans 15 years - something no other album has attempted.

Adderley continued to record for Capitol until 1972, and then switched to Fantasy for the last three years of his life. All told, the recordings of Cannonball Adderley are many and varied; as many as we've discussed here, there are dozens more (see below). Collecting Cannonball, then, becomes a daunting task. Thankfully, some good compilations exist to expedite the process - though none are any more comprehensive than the all-too-brief Definitive Cannonball Adderley.

Together, five discs - Spontaneous Combustion (Savoy), Ultimate (Verve), Somethin' Else (Blue Note), Greatest Hits (Fantasy), and Capitol's Best Of (which overlaps slightly with Fantasy's set) - provide a good start, comprising an ad hoc boxed set (sans box) that surveys most of Adderley's prolific catalog. Plus, a huge amount of Cannonball's repertoire is now available for download, making it easier to fill in the gaps. Beyond that, jazz buffs will find a cornucopia of albums to dig - most reissued on CD more than once. [top of page]